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08 December 2015

The Hundred Days #nlpoli

“A new government has a very small amount of time in which to lay the groundwork for its term of office. It has about six months to show things are different and about a year to start showing signs of results. In fact, they really have about 100 days to make a mark, and when it comes to things like re-organizing the departments and getting political and public service staff changes made, they have even less than that.

“The reasons are pretty simple: The outside world wants to figure out what government they really elected. For the government itself, they need to sort out the basics so they can cope with the onslaught of demands that come with the force of a three inch fire hose. Put another way, the new government has a short time to take control of the public agenda. That’s the only way they can filter the workload down to a manageable level, let alone do the things they want to do. Without control of the political agenda, they become followers rather than leaders.”

That’s the first two paragraphs from a column your humble e-scribbler wrote for The Independent was back when it began. It appeared in January 2004 after the Conservatives under Danny Williams had gone through a few less-than-stellar moments. Go back and read the whole thing to see if any of it applies to current events.

JM has 10 things he believes Dwight Ball and the Liberals should get on with over the next three months. Not surprisingly, the first few are all about money. Review the current budget, JM advises, and future revenue projections. Put in place a new five and 10 year plan for government. Review Muskrat Falls. Take action on the population strategy. Review Nalcor’s oil holdings. Watch out for Article 8 of the 2005 offshore transfer deal. Set up a fisheries marketing board.

All interesting stuff and all well worth your time, if you haven’t read JM’s post already. This is basically another version of the “narrative war” incidentally. People are trying to figure out who the Liberals are. Like every new administration, the Liberals are likely going to spend some time trying to figure that out as well.